NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is reiterating his party’s pledge to put a cap on cellphone and internet costs across Canada — appealing to voters at the start of the campaign’s third day with the promise of also creating “true” unlimited data plans, if elected.

“We are amongst the highest cost jurisdictions in the world for our cellphone services,” Singh said at an event in Toronto.

His claim is backed up by a 2017 study, commissioned annually by the federal government and done by the consulting firm Nordcity — which found Canadian cellphone rates, again, among the highest out of eight surveyed countries.

The NDP leader pitched measures on Friday like compelling cellphone companies to allow competitors to use their infrastructure — hoping that would allow for other players to compete at a lower cost — and opening the telecommunications market to players outside Canada. “I think we should be open to that,” Singh said, cautioning that decisions to open the market should be based on security and privacy interests. Singh said he’d implement his proposed price cap immediately, but noted it could be lifted once prices came down. He projected the cap could save households an average of $250 per year.

Friday wasn’t the first time Singh spoke about telecommunications — the NDP revealed parts of Singh’s pledge in June of this year. In a press release accompanying the Friday morning event, the NDP alleged that, under Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s government, five major telecoms — Bell, Quebecor, Rogers, Shaw and Telus — had profit margins of almost 40 per cent in 2017. “To top it off, Trudeau rewarded Bell, Rogers and Telus with $50 million in subsidies and more than $700 million in contracts,” the release noted.

Singh told reporters in Toronto that a similar cap had proven effective in Australia. When asked about concerns that service quality or investments in related infrastructure could suffer, Singh again pointed to the situation in Australia, saying the country had “massive” infrastructure investments and high-quality service.

The NDP will not be alone this election with pledges to help Canadians with their phone and internet costs. The Liberal party, too, will pledge during the campaign to cut down on cellphone and internet bills, according to reporting by Reuters, which noted that one option being studied by the Liberals is a cap on telecommunications bills.

In February, the government wrote in a press release that the best way to bring down prices of telecommunications services was competition, saying regions with “strong competition” had up to 32 per cent cheaper wireless data plans than the national average. Singh, in his remarks on Friday morning, said competition was still possible with a cap in place. “People can complete and go even lower,” he told reporters.

Per a report this year by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canadian households are spending an average of $223 per month on communications services. An average of 43 per cent was being spent on cellphones; 23 per cent on average was going toward internet. The average Canadian household, the CRTC found, is spending 3.1 per cent of their income on communications services.

The CRTC has been engaged in a review of mobile wireless services since earlier this year to determine whether action is required to improve choice and affordability in the Canadian market. The commission called for public submissions from February to May, and plans to hold a public hearing starting in January 2020 in the National Capital Region.

Robert Ghiz, President of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, argued in response to Singh’s announcement that Canadians already had access to “four major wireless providers and multiple discount brands,” and that unlimited data plans were now “widely available.”

Providers, he said in a statement, invested “billions each year” into network coverage expansion and preparation for 5G technology. He argued that Canada’s wireless service was among the best around the world. “A lot of these political arguments about Canadian wireless are old news or outright misconceptions,” Ghiz wrote.

“Politicians should focus on policies that encourage continued investment in Canada’s wireless infrastructure – and maybe even acknowledge that Canada’s wireless accomplishments are actually a source of pride for our country.”

Aligning with a key message of the federal NDP campaign so far, Singh said Friday that his party was “ready to stand up to the big lobbyists” within the telecommunications realm, and chided Trudeau for his own meetings with lobbyists. Singh was quizzed by reporters after the announcement about his comments and whether they indicated that he would never meet with lobbyists as Prime Minister.

“Meeting with them is not the problem. Caving into their demands is the problem,” Singh replied.

Reporters also asked Singh how he planned to win votes from members of Canada’s corporate sphere, particularly as he’s scheduled to give a speech later on Friday morning at Toronto’s Canadian Club — a downtown public affairs podium that often draws members of the city’s business community.

“I don’t want to make anyone an enemy, but I want to definitely take on the powerful. I think they’ve had a free ride,” Singh replied.

With just hours left before his speech, Singh said that “massive inequality” wasn’t good for anybody.

“I’m not going to tell them a different message,” he told reporters.

“I’m going to tell them the same thing.”

* This story has been updated with comment from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association